Stalker/Manager or Land Grabber?

roedeerred

Well-Known Member
Went out This morning for a look round one of my new permissions and whilst waiting/watching it occured to me that some people hold a lot more land than than they can reasonably manage.
There is a BIG differance between a manager and a stalker.
I currently have access to a reasonable amount of land and can find the time to manage deer as the owners have the right to expect.
Last year having been asked to take out a few extra on a sensitive patch an associate had been after his own bit for some time so being busy at work I arranged for him to take over for a few months.briefing him that this was a management job he failed miserably to take even one beast.He will not get the chance again:!::oops: I had to fence the trees and still just have kept the land.
How many people hold land they cannot get round often enough to do the job??
If you have a cull of 10 roe then for most it is 30 visits if you are a half decent stalker
SOMETHING TO CONSIDER ??
Why not allow somone less fortunate to get out
2 bucks were taken off my permissions this morning 45 mile apart:thumb:
 
It's true... I have 168acres mixed arable and woodland which I share with another stalker and it is an ideal size. Mine is purely recreational stalking as there's no real pressure to keep numbers down, the landowner quite likes the idea of having deer on the land so it's more a case of taking a couple for the freezer 4 or 5 times a year. This suits my current lifestyle and work commitments so I'm happy with it.
Having 1000's of acres dotted all over the place is all good and well in theory but in reallity for me it would be unmanageable.
 
Si yes thats my point exactly you are happy with what you can manage good on you.
I reacently heard if someone knocking on doors when he already has several hundreds of acres and ony goes twice a year that is sheer greed or stupid as it gets us a bad name.
nice one Bobt had not read it like that:doh::rofl:
 
I guess its the difference between recreational and running a business. I can understand those that land "grab" all they can, because you never know if circumstances change with the landowner means a change for you. I know people who have stalked land for years, have excellent relationships with the land owners and who have lost their permission thro death, money, scull duggery and any other permitation. Permission is a fickle thing it can take ages to gain some but only minutes to loose it and its against this backdrop that I can understand people land grabbing as much as they can. What is annoying is seeing that they do not have enough time to do it properly but will they give it up.... will they heck! Happy days
 
I think it's down to location. I have a few very local permisions covering a fair acreage and I feel I do them justice, am able to pop in to them regularly even without the rifle to get to know whats about etc and show my face.(often on the way to and from work). It also means that if you have a window of a couple of hours on an evening you can pop out.
Anything further than 5 or 10 miles and your not going to bother.
I have one small bit about an hour 1/4 away , only make it up there a couple of times a year.
 
Anything further than 5 or 10 miles and your not going to bother.
I have one small bit about an hour 1/4 away , only make it up there a couple of times a year.

Bloody hell you live in a different world to us up here, it is 10 miles to the nearest shop and 140 mile round trip to work and back,:-| a hour and a quarter is almost classed as local.:lol:

I just backed out of a potential lease today and give it to another site member to bid on; I knew that I would struggle to stalk it with my other stalking commitments.

ATB

Tahr
 
I have an awful lot of land that I can shoot over locally to where I live, when I say locally I mean < 10 miles from my door. The nearest being 50 yards from my door.

Some of these grounds I initially only had permission from the landowner to shoot pests, EG rabbit, pigeon, fox.

Only after proving that I can do the job efficiently and a bit of arm twisting I was granted permission to manage the deer population. This only happened by developing the relationship over a few years. Should I have only stuck to the first bit of ground that I had I would still only have permission to shoot pests and no deer, this landowner is happy to see deer on the farm and wants them left alone. I know that I will get a call from him one day when he personally see's these deer eating his most expensive crop of the year, he will want something done about it. I have been out lamping foxes and have seen up to 14 eating these seasonal crops, that call will come one day.

So I feel by having more than one ground is definitely worth it as some have said you could lose it tomorrow and by starting with just general pest control this can always develop into something more.

I do not have any guilt that I have lots of land to shoot over, some has come from word of mouth, some has come from knocking on doors. Shooting rights don't just land on your lap most of the time, you need to work for it.


Cheers

Ross
 
Anything further than 5 or 10 miles and your not going to bother.
I have one small bit about an hour 1/4 away , only make it up there a couple of times a year.
Speak for yourself mate. I have nothing closer than an hour and I get out plenty! Even my closest decent fishing is a 45 minute run to the coast. Pre-dawn Saturday morning trips in July are tough, especially after a tough week commuting, but making the trip for winter does is easy by comparison...
 
Interesting thread. I have two estates one single handed and one with two mates.I only pay on value of venison removed. Both approached me as they had deer problems and it has been made clear that we have to get to or very near our planned culls if I am to retain them. So I have refused other oppotunities. As a land manager I dont want some one to come pigeon shooting wait untill the fields are grey and proudly say he shot 250. I want one who says he had been 5 time and shot 10. He is there as a deterent so far as I am concerned and likewise with my stalking. If one was paying on an acreage basis then the land owner should have little to complain about if the targets arnt met. If he is not happy then he can raise it with stalker or find someone else. Its a free market out there.
 
Hay you guys who have replied seem to be like me, dedicated to doing the job asked of you I honestly did not expect those who just collect land to keep other out to admit it :-|.I was just raiseing the point to make a few think there are lots of good lads and lasses who would love to be given the chances we have and yes most of mine I earned through vermin control etc.But the bit I was on that morning.The previous person had been given it then only been on once in two years so lost it.
 
Having exessive amounts of land, as you say need manageing correct. So to cycle every few weeks leaving a area to cool we regulary do. It takes us 3-4 months to get to where we started , balancing nature ,not making things over twitchy & lamp shy. If the crops , meadows or plantations need extra attension, keeping a regular eye on the place alerts us to what goes on, with out sometimes taking a shot. For a single person, its impossible almost , holding a job down keeping the family happy, & dedicating 2-6 outing a week, wether morning, afternoon oe evening.Maybe all 3 !!!! It takes a special lady to understand the cave man in us & appreciate what we bring home. ;) But the rewards of a good walk, fresh air & unmolested meat, beat anything :)

On the other hand not having enough land, can it be over shot ? leaving you fustrated not seeing a thing some weeks ? By having enough to shoot in my book meens , been able to take out 70-80% of the problem ,over a period of a couple of years. Also having compassion for a hard winter , allowing breeding & reaping the reward the following year also, keeping a flock, a herd, nest, colony, trace, drove etc with out having to look around for more to hunt! Or eat the cr*p from the supermarket .eeeeekkkkkkk!!
 
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Well if any of you guys find you have to much and need a hand drop me a email.
Im still searcing for my own bit of ground with deer on.
One day every one says one day?
 
Don't think there is an easy answer to this question, it really depends on the time you have available, I manage around
70,000 acres and its not to much, but I do it full time as a job, this is made up of a number areas of differing sizes the smallest being 1,500 acres the largest in excess of 32,000 acres.
 
EXACTLY my point.bogtrotter yours is a full job you can be out every day (almost)
I have iro3000 of farmed land and out as often as I think needed at least four times a week my landlords are happy and if one area needs more attention then I can provide it.
Some just tie up land they cannot get round.
Mryou
But dont have to worry about wife and kids various wives etc have given up and gone they did not like me jumping out of bed early to go shooting several times a week then jumping back in late evening smelling of deer:doh:so now I am strictly on my own except the dogs who never complain
 
EXACTLY my point.bogtrotter yours is a full job you can be out every day (almost)
I have iro3000 of farmed land and out as often as I think needed at least four times a week my landlords are happy and if one area needs more attention then I can provide it.
Some just tie up land they cannot get round.
Mryou
But dont have to worry about wife and kids various wives etc have given up and gone they did not like me jumping out of bed early to go shooting several times a week then jumping back in late evening smelling of deer:doh:so now I am strictly on my own except the dogs who never complain

I remember them days well .. arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !! :rofl: The goooooooood daysssssssss ;) Im lucky she's a keeper :)
 
This is exactley the thing that frustrates new stalkers. Where I live, the stalking is mostly taken up by one person ,who doesn`t "manage" the deer unless a foriegner is paying him big bucks. Masses of land thats never looked at, but no one else can get a lookin. In this area it seems to be about money. Sorry if I sound like I`m ranting a bit, but this thread says a lot about the way I have found stalking to be.

ATB
 
You should come on down to Thetford, I have 3 big estates that border my area, FC and MOD land to contend with, and the land that isnt covered by any of the above is sewn up by 3-4 guys that as soon as something fresh comes up wave Pound notes under the owners noses.

Hacks me off, nothing that I can do about it, so I must get on with the little bits that I have got and enjoy myself.
 
This is exactley the thing that frustrates new stalkers. Where I live, the stalking is mostly taken up by one person ,who doesn`t "manage" the deer unless a foriegner is paying him big bucks. Masses of land thats never looked at, but no one else can get a lookin. In this area it seems to be about money. Sorry if I sound like I`m ranting a bit, but this thread says a lot about the way I have found stalking to be.

ATB
... I agree, it appears that quite a few places want decent sums of money for guys to only appear a few times in a year. I am looking to do my DSC1 in the next year and then hope to look for some local'ish permission to develop and spend some time on to improve it.
 
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